Thunder v Pacers - when is game seven of the NBA Finals?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) has scored 196 points across the first six games of the NBA finals for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Indiana Pacers
- Published
The 2025 NBA finals series between Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers is going to game seven.
The Larry O'Brien Championship decider will take place at 01:00 BST on Monday, 23 June (20:00 on Sunday, 22 June local time).
The series is tied at 3-3 following the Pacers' 108-91 victory over the Thunder on Thursday to level up the series.
Before the season finale, BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team looks at what to watch out for.
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NBA finals fixtures and results
Game 1 - at Oklahoma Oklahoma City Thunder 110-111 Indiana Pacers
Game 2 - at Oklahoma Oklahoma City Thunder 123-107 Indiana Pacers
Game 3 - at Indiana Indiana Pacers 116-107 Oklahoma City Thunder
Game 4 - at Indiana Indiana Pacers 104-111 Oklahoma City Thunder
Game 5 - at Oklahoma Oklahoma City Thunder 120-109 Indiana Pacers
Game 6 - at Indiana Indiana Pacers 108-91 Oklahoma City Thunder
Game 7 - at Oklahoma Sunday, 22 June - 20:00 local time (01:00 Monday 23 June BST)
When was the last time the NBA Finals went to game seven?
For the first time since 2016, the NBA finals have gone the distance and required game seven to decide the winner.
The last time that happened, a Cleveland Cavaliers side including LeBron James and Draymond Green were 4-3 winners over the Golden State Warriors.
It is the 20th series in the NBA's 78-year history that has required all seven matches in the final.
How to watch the NBA finals
Match seven of the NBA finals will be showing in the United Kingdom via TNT Sports and discovery+.
First-time hopefuls vs a 46-year wait
As far as historic NBA longevity goes, a final between the Thunder and the Pacers is one that is a surprise to many.
The Pacers are only here for the second time in their history, while the Thunder are only making their fourth finals outing themselves.
Spearheaded by Olympic champion Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers are among the 10 active franchises never to win the NBA's national championship.
The Thunder's only NBA finals crown came in 1979 when they were the Seattle Sonics, meaning no Oklahoma-based side has won the competition.
The Larry O'Brien Trophy will head to a new state for the first time in either Indiana or Oklahoma.
Will SGA join the exclusive MVP club?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the third Oklahoma City Thunder player in history to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award
This season, Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Canadian to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award since Steven Nash in 2006.
A finals win with Olkahoma could also see him join an exclusive club with some of basketball's all-time greats.
Not since 2015 has the season MVP gone on to win the finals with their franchise that season, with the last being Steph Curry.
Better known as 'SGA', Gilgeous-Alexander is the third Thunder player to be named MVP after Kevin Durant (2014) and Russell Westbrook (2017).
SGA could join the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as an MVP and NBA champion.
Thunder's 5-3 record vs Pacers
The two finalists met twice already this season prior to the start of the finals, coming in December in Indiana and March in Oklahoma.
On both occasions, the Thunder came out on top. It means the Thunder have a 5-3 lead for the season.
Between Christmas and New Year, the Thunder were 120-114 winners on the road and they beat the Pacers 132-111 in March.
During the earlier play-off rounds, the Thunder recorded wins in 12 of their 16 games, including a 4-0 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. The Pacers had an identical record ahead of the finals.
Pacers' outstanding comebacks
Tyrese Haliburton celebrated with a choke celebration after taking game one of the Easter Conference finals to overtime with a buzzer beater
A major factor in the Pacers reaching a first finals in 25 years has been their ability to overturn games that have at times, seemed close to impossible to do so.
In game five of their play-off first-round meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers found themselves 118-111 down with 40 seconds of overtime remaining, only for Andrew Nembhard to nail a three-pointer and Haliburton to score five unanswered points for a 119-118 victory.
Trailing by 14 points in the third quarter of game two in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Thunder were 119-112 down with 57 seconds left, but recorded a 120-119 victory as Haliburton found a three-pointer with one second remaining.
A hat-trick of memorable play-off comebacks again had Haliburton at the heart of it. In the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers trailed 121-112 to the Knicks with 52 seconds remaining of regular time. As the buzzer sounded, Haliburton's long-range shot with one foot on the three-point line bounced up off the rim and dropped in for two points, sending the game to overtime before the Pacers won 135-134.
The Pacers could need their ability to dig deep into game seven against a Thunder side that averaged 3.1 more points per game than them in the regular season.
Thunder's home-court advantage
The Thunder have got the home-court advantage for the final, already hosting games one, two and five of the series.
This is because the Western Conference champions had a significantly better record during the 82-game regular season, winning 68 matches to the Pacers' 50.
Since the Pacers' previous finals appearance in 2000, 16 of the 25 teams with home-court advantage have won the finals.
However, each of the 2024, 2023 and 2022 finalists with home-court advantage failed to make it count.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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